Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg expressed hope that a deal can be reached to resolve the newly enacted strike involving East and Gulf coast ports, specifically calling on “extremely profitable” ocean carriers to end it.

The strike, which started Tuesday, began after the International Longshoremen’s Association was unable to reach a new deal with the United States Maritime Alliance and is expected to greatly affect the flow of certain goods into the U.S. Buttigieg explained that the strike needs to be resolved as soon as possible, as port workers are seeking increased wages in their new contract.